NOTE: America Reads Spanish -- http://www.americareadsspanish.org -- is the name of the campaign sponsored by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade and the Spanish Association of Publishers Guilds, whose purpose is to increase the reading and use of Spanish through the auspices of thousands of libraries, schools and booksellers in the United States.

Book Awards

Current Pura Belpré Award Winner - The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA affiliate. The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. As a children's librarian, storyteller, and author, she enriched the lives of Puerto Rican children in the U.S.A. through her pioneering work of preserving and disseminating Puerto Rican folklore. The award is now given annually. It was given as a biennial award from 1996 through 2008. See web page with list of all Past Belpré Medal Winners.